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Ana de Armas Worked for 9 Months to Nail This Marilyn Monroe Attribute Before Filming ‘Blonde’

There has been quite a lot of hype ahead of the release of Netflix's Blonde, which explores the life of Marilyn Monroe and was adapted from the Pulitzer Prize-nominated Joyce Carol Oates novel of the same name. But of course, no one knew the pressure of making this film better than Ana de Armas (Knives Out), who fills the role of Monroe. As it turns out, de Armas spent quite a lot of time preparing for the movie, and there was one attribute of Monroe's that she had to work tirelessly to perfect: her voice.

The Deep Water actress was the cover star of Elle this month, where she talked about everything from her role in the upcoming film The Gray Man, to her excitement upon leaving Los Angeles. However, it was her tidbits about working on Blonde that caught our attention. Back in 2021, the 34-year-old star revealed to The Times that it took her 9 months to master Monroe's voice. “It only took me nine months of dialect coaching, and practicing, and some ADR sessions,” she said. “It was a big torture, so exhausting. My brain was fried.”

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David Livingston/Stringer/Getty Images

Now, she elaborated to Elle about filling the iconic role, and she pointed to how casting is changing in Hollywood. “It’s definitely changing, it’s getting better,” she said. “But it’s hard to know now, being in my position, because I know it’s not the same for everybody...and I feel like it’s coming from filmmakers, that diversity has become a must. You have to do the right thing. Thank God.”

As a Cuban actress, de Armas is hopeful that she will continue to receive a variety of parts in the future. “I do want to play Latina. But I don’t want to put a basket of fruit on my head every single time,” she stated. “So that’s my hope, that I can show that we can do anything if we’re given the time to prepare, and if we’re given just the chance, just the chance. You can do any film—Blonde—you can do anything.”

We can't wait to see de Armas fill the role of Marilyn. Blonde premieres on Netflix on September 23.

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calfee

Associate Editor, News and Entertainment

Joel is the former Associate Editor for News & Entertainment and has been reporting on all things pop culture for over 5 years. Before working at PureWow, he served as a Features Editor at ROCKET Magazine. When he's not dissecting the latest trends in entertainment (or guiding you on what to watch), he covers all the hottest red carpet looks and fashion movements. When he steps away from the keyboard, you can likely find him at an NYC concert, thrift store or LGBTQ+ bookstore happily perusing the shelves.